Follower for card filing trays



Feb. 12, 1952 c. M. ABRAHAMSON 2,585,612

FOLLOWER FOR CARD FILING TRAYS Filed June 22, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 12, 1952 c M, ABRAHAMSON 2,585,612

FOLLOWER FOR CARD FILING TRAYS Filed June 22, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 12, 1952 c. M. ABRAHAMSON 2,585,

FOLLOWER FOR CARD FILING TRAYS Filed June 22, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 12.1952

UNITED STATES PATENT {OFFICE rolls-ownin- FOR CARD'YFILINGTRAYS u-Charles M. Abrahamson, Aurora; 111.; assignor --.to

-All-Steel Equipment Inc., a corporation of. Illinois Application June' ZZ, 1946; Serial No. 678;632

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a cardi filing device,

- and-more particularly to a card filing'deviceafor tabulating and index cards and .the like.

- 'One of the'requirements of a satisfactory card filing device such-as a card tray,.is.that the cards can be retained therein positively soth'at; upon 1 moving of the card tray, the cards :willnot. become-disarranged or spill out. Whenthexcards are positioned on edge andaupright within-..the card tray they will usuallybe retainedrtherein by *aback-plateor follower which is adjustable to i compress'the :cards against the front wall of the I car'dtray. The backplate or follower should be capable of being locked tightlyin. a. desired position' by a positiveretaining. meansxthe. locking "efiect of which willbe increased .ratherjthan decreased by the pressure of .the compressed cards, yet the follower should. also be readily releasable so that the 'cards'can be removed fro-mthe tray.

Furthermore, the action. of the followerin'com- 1 pressing the cards should be implemented by'the action of the frontwall of the tray, since cards of uneven thickness particularly thosehaving tab members onthe corners. may have to be'retained therein. .The overall construction ofhthe card filing. device ortray, including the construction ..'of the back. plate or follower, should he sturdy, lightin weight andthe moving parts should move freely and WithOLIt' sticking.

Furthermore,v the "followershould take up'as little spaceas-possible within the .card trayr consistent with effective follower operation, in order to provide asmuch 'filingspace as is possible for the cards.

Accordingly, it is an object ofiny invention -.to provide a new and improved card filing-device, such as a card tray and followertherefore "wherein the follower is retained in card compressing position by appositive compressional :t gripping means, the eiie'ct of which is increased urather than decreased, by-the pr.essure-of.-.the 'racards on the follower.

Other-objects of my invention are toprovide a -.wherein the, overall construction is sturdy, light 1 inweight and the moving: parts, move freely. and

without sticking.

T-hese and other .objects. and advantagesgof my invention-:will. :become apparent from the following detailed descriptionitaken :in. conjunction with the attached: drawingsin which- Fig. 1. is a perspective view of. a cardtray viewed from the left-rear. and above; and show- .ing a portion of. the interior ofthe tray, therear Of-the frontswall'. of the trayi,andthe back and r top oi the-cardiollower;

Eigg. 2-is-'.av'rea1" elevational view. of. the; card -tray shown in Fig. vlgand :showslthe back of the follower;

Fig. 3 :is a cross sectional; View, taken on. line Fig. 4 is arcross" sectional; .view. taken on line Fig.1 5 m -is. a' cross sectional view taken. on line I 5-5 Of 'Figal 4;

2 Fig 6 .is. a: cross :sectional- View,v broken away,

taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

'7... isaar. perspective view .of disassembled par-tsof the .cardiollower;

Fig. 8..is: asfronteleyational view of the card tray withthe irontwall, broken away in portion;

. Figs9.11s.aucrosscsectional view taken on line -9 9of" Fig. 8. andromitting-the name plate holder and the tray handle and Fig. 104s across-sectional view taken online 10-40 of Fig. 8 and likewiseomitsthe. name plate holder and card tray handle.

Fig.- 1 illustrates, anembodiment of my invention; a" card "tray-having a front wall 2 I including a rear abutment 22; side walls 24 and 25, guide'channels'26 and33-which extend longitudin'ally along the inner sides of the side walls, a tray bottom 23, and a card follower 2? which is positionedtransversely of the long axis of the card. trayand extends substantially from side to side. of. the...tray..and. has. a vertical height nearlyequal.tothatofthe side walls 24 and Z5. The follower -21-is supported by and guided by :theyguide rchannelsa 26;..and 33, and is. movable .from front. to rears-and vice-versa of, the. tray. .Elements-.-.of the'trayl. assembly shown in Fig. 1 aremade. of lightlweightestrong sheet metal.

Details of theguide. channel construction for guiding *and* supportingthe card .follower are 'best o'btained'frorn Figs. 2 4 and 5. Referring to "Fig; 2, it-will be noticed that the trayside' member '2 d'iextends' vertically and is bent over at the top 'at'l'32 to deflnet'the widthof the trayside.

".iSlde vmeinber28. lis 'inte'rfitted. with the bent over portion 32, extends vertically downward, and is recessed at 29 to form a channel guide having a horizontal portion 39 and a vertically extending flange 3| extending upward from the horizontal portion 35 and spaced from the side wall to define the width of the guide track 25. Similarly, the other side 25 of the card tray is recessed at 34 to form a channel guide having a horizontal portion 35 and a vertically extending side flange 36 which defines the width of the guide track 33. Guide tracks 33 and 26 are at the same height from the bottom of the card tray and extend longitudinally along the inner sides of the sides 24 and 25 of the length of the card tray.

In Figs. 4 and 5, it will be observed that the horizontal portion 39 of the guide track 26 includes a corrugated portion 3l,the corrugations extending transversely of the length of the guide track. It is immaterial whether this configuration be called corrugated, toothed, or serrated, the object being to provide a roughened surface from a piece of sheet metal material of the type used in the construction of the card tray which can be gripped to give positive locking action. Similarly, a portion of the horizontal surface 35 of guide track 33 is corrugated. Deforming a piece of standard sheet metal stock to produce a roughened surface, such as the corrugated surface 3l, provides a surface which is intrinsically thin yet is also strong and sturdy and can be gripped positively. Thus a surface is provided which facilitates locking of the follower in position and this surface is obtained from standard sheet metal stock without having to fold over or otherwise thicken the guide channel track.

The construction of the card follower 27 is best obtained from the perspective view of Fig. 7, showing the disassembled components thereof and the assembled construction is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Cross sectional details of the assembled follower construction are shown in Figs. 3 and 6.

Shown in Fig. 7 are the front plate or wall 38 of the card follower, i. e., the side of the card follower that contacts the cards retained within the card tray, and the rear plate or wall 39 which is secured to the front plate 38 to form a housing for the mechanism which operates the card follower locking means. The front plate 33 has side flanges 45 and ll, a bottom flange 42 and a top flange 53 which is bent over at 44 to form a vertically depending skirt. The flanges 40, 4i, 42 and 53 define the thickness of the card follower. Top flange 43 contains a cutout opening 55 and side flanges 39 and t! contain recesses 49 and ll, and recesses 45 and 49. The side flanges also have formed integrally therewith bent-over ear members 50 and Si which are parallel to the front plate 38. Ear member 55 contains the internally threaded opening 52 and ear member i contains the internally threaded opening 53.

Rear plate 39 is a substantially flat vertically extending wall having a horizontally extending bottom flange 54 and a recess portion 55 adjacent the top extremity 59 of the plate. The horizontal bottom flange 54 has an anchor post 5?, which extends vertically upward, formed therefrom by cutting kerfs perpendicular to the length of the flange and bending the portion intermediate the kerfs vertically upward. Recessed portion 55 contains a cutout opening 58 and the top extremity 55 is likewise cut away at 59 to make the vertical sides of the cutaway portion 59 coextensive with the vertical sides of the cutout opening 58. The substantially flat wall portion of rear plate 39 has formed integral therewith and perpendicular thereto a plurality of extensions 60, BI, 62 and 63 of substantially the same size. Recesses 94, 65, 69, and 6'! are formed in these extensions as indicated. The recesses are aligned horizontally. Also formed integrally with the substantially flat wall portion of rear plate 39 are guide lugs 58 and 69 which include the portions 19 and TI, faced away from each other and parallel to the rear plate 39. The rear plate also includes bolt holes 72, i3, 14 and f5.

When the rear plate 39 is secured to the front plate 38, the upper extremity 56 is under the top flange 43 and rests against the inner side, i. e., the side toward the front plate 33, of the vertically depending skirt 4d. The vertically extending edges of the recess 59 are aligned with the edges of the cutout opening 95 which are parallel to the long axis of the tray and likewise the vertically extending edges of cutout opening 53 are in similar alignment. Extension 63 lies along the inner face of side flange 49 and extension 53 lies along the inner face of side flange 4!. Recess 48 is aligned with recess 51 to define a journal opening and recess 49 is aligned with recess 64 to define a similar journal opening. These journal openings are at the same height from the bottom flange 42. The bottom flange 54 rests against the upper surface of the bottom flange 42. Bolt hole 14 is aligned with threaded opening 53 and similarly bolt hole 15 is aligned with threaded opening 52. Thus, rear plate 39 is secured to front plate 33 by bolt members such as the threaded bolt l6, which extend through the openings 14 and I5, and are in threaded engagement with the internally threaded portions of openings 52 and 53. Preferably, bolt retaining means such as lock washer l'l', are provided. Thus, the front and rear plates of the follower are retained together by being bolted together at the bottom and also by the engagement of the extremity 55 with the vertically depending skirt 44.

Housed intermediate the front plate 39 and the rear plate 39 of the card follower are the depressible plunger 18, shaft 19 having an eccentric portion 89, spring member BI, and the arms 32 and 83 of the follower guide members 84 and 85. Depressible plunger 18 includes a substantially flat vertically extending wall portion 86 having a horizontally extending top flange portion 81 containing vertically depending skirt portions 83 and 89. Plunger '18 also includes a bottom horizontal flange 99 integral with the plate portion 86, and a vertically depending anchor post 9i is formed from the flange 99 in the manner explained for anchor post 51. Aligned side flanges 9| and 92 contain matched recesses 93 and 94 and matched grooves 95 and 96.

Prior to attaching the rear plate 39 to the front plate 38, the follower guide members 84 and 85 are attached to the rear plate 39 by passing threaded bolt members, such as the bolt 91, through the aligned openings 72 in the follower rear plate and 98 in the arm 83 of follower guide member 84 and the corresponding openings 13 and 99, and threading nuts, such as is shown at Illl, onto the bolts to retain the parts together. The follower guide members 84 and 85 are secured so that their arms 83 and 82 lie against the inner face of rear plate 39, i. e., the side of that plate which is toward the front plate 38. In this position, follower guide arms I02 and I03 extend, at the sides of the follower, horizontally forward of the follower. The shaft 19 is then placed in the aligned recesses 64, 65, 66 and El,

and the eccentric portion of the shaft will lie pressing these corrugated portions.

ir'itermeoliate' the extensions 6 I *and' 62 3 Spring 8 I i then placed vertically' overanchor posts-51 and anchor post 9| is inserted into the upp'er end of spring 8I to compress it, and the depressible plunger 'I8 is facedtoward the rear plate 39 so that recesses 93 and 94 engage the eccentric portion 80 of shaft I9, and retaining lugportions I0 and II engage the bottom of grooves96 and 95 respectively. In this position, the depressible 'plungeris retained, against spring 'bias tending to force it upward, bylug portionslfl and II. With this assemblage, the rear plate 39 is then secured'to the front plate 38 in the manner heretofore described and it will be observed that the alignmentof parts is such that the top flange portion 81 and-depending skirtportions' 38 and 89 of thedepressible plunger "I8 will extend up- *'wardly-throu'gh the cutout opening 45. Likewise,

"the recesses 46 and Will accommodate the arms 82 and 83, respectively, of the follower guide members 85 and 84. Aligned recesses 48 and 6'! and 49 and 64 form a journal'housing for shaft I9. 'Recesses 65 and 66 also support this shaft while recesses 93 and 94 of the depressible plunger flanges 9I and92 engage-the eccentric portion 80 of shaft I9. The depressible plunger 18 is guided in its movement by the side walls of the cutout openings 45 and 58 and movement upward of this plunger'in response to the action of spring 8| is limited by the engagement of the bottoms of grooves 95 and 96 with lugs 'II and respectively. Arms I02 and I03 of follower'guide members 84 and '85 rest upon the upper surface of the corrugated portions, such as corrugated portion 31, of the follower guide channels 26 and 33. The follower 21 is thus maintained transverse to the longaxis of the card tray and is movably supported on the follower guide channels 26 and 33. Excessive sidewise movement of the arms I02 and I03 of follower guide members 84 and 85 is prevented by the vertical side channel extensions 36 and 3|. As the arms I02 and I03 of the follower guide members rest upon only the vertical peaks of the corrugated portions of the follower guide channels, such as peak I04 shown in Fig. 4,

there is minimum frictional resistance to sliding movement of the follower forwardly and rearwardly of the card tray. v I,

The ends of shaft I9 extend from the sides of the follower 21 to points adjacent the side walls 24 and 25 of the card tray. Naturally, the shaft surface, such as the toothed surfaces I08 and I09.

The cams are positioned beneath the corrugated portions of the side guide channels and adjacent thereto, thus also being beneath the arms I02 and I03 of the follower guide members that rest upon these corrugated portions. Also, the cams are arranged so that upon rotation of shaft I9 counter-clockwise the toothed surfaces I08 and I09 will engage and force the corrugated portion of each follower guide channel that lies between the toothed surfaces and the undersides of arms I02 and I03, against these undersides, thus com- This compressingaction can be observed in Fig. 4 where the toothed surface I09 is shown as engaging the corrugated portion 31 and forcingthis portion against the underside of member I03. To secure luni'form compressionof the corrugatedfportion 6 3'I,the eam' meniber- I06 'is approximatelyas thick as member I03.

Asthe spring member 8| urges the depre'ssible plunger I8 upward, and because this plunger en-. gages the -eccentric portion 80 of shaft 'I9,--'the normal tendency is to rotate the shaft- 'I9'in a counter-clockwise direction and thus retain the follower in locked position. By merely depressing plunger I8, which engages eccentric portion 80, shaft I9 is rotated in a clockwise direction thus moving the cams away from the undersides of the corrugated portions of the follower guide channels and allowing the card follower tomove freely either backward or forward. Since the axis of shaft I9 lies below-and forward of the axis of the eccentric portion and forward of the greatest radial length of each cam, pressure against the front wall or plate 38 of the card follower, such as could be exerted by the cards being compressed, tends to cause further counterclockwise movement of the shaft I9, which causes tighter gripping of the follower guide channels because of increased cam pressure andhence tighter locking of the follower in locked position.

To aid the follower 21 in retaining cards in compressed position within the card tray, the front Wall 2I of the tray contains a. resilient abutment 22 which also presses against the cards and tends to compress them. This constructionis shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In Fig. 10 it will be observed that the abutment 22 has attached thereto, by rivet construction I I0, a leaf type spring I I I, which bears against the inner surface of front wall 2i to urge abutment 22 to the rear. The'extent of movement of abutment 22 to the rear is limited by the engagement of flanges I I2 and I I 3, carried. by this abutment, with the bentover flange portions I I4 and I I5 of the front Wall 2|. However, abutment 22 can move forward, against the action spring III, to the extent 'allowed by the free space between flange H4 and wall 2I and flange II 5 andwall 2| As will be observed in Figs. 8 and 9, leaf type spring III is of elongated shape with two spring arms H5 and III bearing against the front wall 2| ofthe card tray. With this size and shape of spring the rear abutment is urged uniformly, i. e.,' is tended to be maintained transversely of the long axis of the tray, to the rear by the spring -i i I.

Movable abutment 22 can thus exert pressure, should it beurged toward front wall 2 I, and this pressure will aid in compressing the cards" held within the tray. Furthermore, this added pressure will aid the follower in its card compressing action because, with a corrugated surface being engaged by a toothed cam, it may not always be possible to obtain exactly the same compressing force against the cards since the point of engagement of the cam teeth with the corrugated'surface may lie slightly back of this maximum pressure point. The spring pressure exerted from the front of the tray tends to compensate for'thls. And the combination of this force exerted .by'the front portion of the tray together with the positive compressional locking means carried by the follower, enabling the follower to be locked tightly in a desired card compressing position, gives a highly workable card retaining means.

It will thus be seen that I have illustrated and described a lightweight, sturdy, and freely movable card filing device, including a follower assembly which can be positively locked in place. The follower is locked inposition by the action of two members gripping and compressing be- 'tween them-a thin strong sheet metalmember which is deformed, i. e., roughened to provide a better gripping surface, and one of the gripping members is also deformed to facilitate better gripping. Furthermore, the action of the card follower compressing the cards within the tray is augmented by the resilient force exerted from the front of the tray and any tendency of the cards to push the follower back results in tighter gripping of the locking means. Because the mechanism for operating the follower locking means is housed within the follower, and the follower is relatively thin, the follower does not take up excessive card filing space. This is an important factor when it is considered that the filing space thus gained in each card tray is cumulative when a large number of trays are used.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not intend to be restricted thereto and that I intend to cover all modifications thereof which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art and which come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a card tray having side walls provided with guide tracks extending longitudinally thereof, each of said guide tracks having a horizontally disposed sheet metal portion, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of said tray, said follower having follower guide members carried thereby and movable along said guide tracks and in contact with one side of said horizontal portion thereof, cams carried by said follower and located on the opposite side of said horizontal portion of said guide tracks from the follower guide members and in vertical alignment therewith, and means normally urging said cams toward said follower guide member and against said horizontal portion of said guide tracks to compress said horizontal portions between the cams and the follower guide members.

2. The combination with a card tray having side walls provided with guide tracks extending longitudinally thereof, each of said guide tracks having a horizontally disposed sheet metal corrugated portion, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of said tray, said follower having guide members carried thereby and movable along said guide tracks and in contact with each horizontal corrugated portion thereof, toothed cams carried by said follower and located beneath each horizontal corrugated portion of said guide tracks and also beneath said follower guide members, and means normally urging the cam teeth of said toothed cams toward said follower guide members and into contact with the under surface of each horizontal corrugated portion of said guide tracks to compress said horizontal portions between the toothed cams and the follower guide members and thereby lock the follower in position.

3. The combination with a card tray having side walls provided with inwardly faced channelshaped guide tracks seeuredto the inner faces thereof, each of said guide tracks having a relatively thin horizontal portion, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of said tray and having a fol lower guide member movable along each of said guide tracks and resting upon the upper side' of said horizontal portion of said guide track, a

the horizontal portion of a guide track and in vertical alignment with a follower guide member, means normally rotating said shaft to bring said cams into contact with each horizontal portion of said guide tracks and hence to compress these horizontal portions between said cams and said follower guide members, and means to rotate said shaft to urge said cams away from each horizontal portion of said guide tracks.

4. The combination with a card tray having inwardly faced guide tracks extending longitudinally along the inner sides thereof, each of said guide tracks having a horizontally disposed, corrugated, sheet metal flange extending the length of the guide tracks, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of said tray, said follower comprising front and rear plate members, journal means, a rotatable shaft supported between said plate members by said journal means, said shaft extending from each side of said follower and adjacent to each side of said card tray, cam members having a plurality of teeth shaped complementary to the corrugations on said flange and rigidly affixed to said shaft, there being a cam member adjacent each end of said shaft and beneath the horizontal corrugated flange of each guide track, follower guide members attached to one of said follower plate members and resting upon the upper surface of each horizontal corrugated flange of said guide tracks directly above each cam member, means to urge each cam member against the underside of each corresponding horizontal corrugated flange of said guide tracks thus compressing said corrugated flange between the cam members and the follower guides, and means to release said cam urging means.

5. The combination with a card tray having inwardly faced guide tracks extending longitudinally along the inner sides thereof, each of said guide tracks having as a part thereof a horizontal corrugated flange extending substantially the length of the track, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of the tray and comprising front and rear plate members, journal means formed upon said plate members, a rotatable shaft supported between said plate members by said journal means, said shaft extending from each side of said follower and adjacent to each side of the card tray and said shaft having an eccentric portion intermediate its length, cam members rigidly affixed to said shaft, there being a cam member adjacent each end of said shaft and beneath the horizontal corrugated flange of each guide track, follower guide members attached to one of said follower plate members and resting upon the upper surface of each horizontal corrugated flange of said guide tracks above each cam member, a depressible plunger positioned between the front and rear plate members of said follower and extending through the top of the follower, said plunger being retained in position against the action of a spring located between-said plate .members and engaging said plunger to bias it upward, and said plunger engaging the eccentric portion of said shaft to urge each cam member against the underside of each corresponding horizontal corrugated flange of said guide tracks whereby, when said plunger is in raised position, the cam members compress the corrugated flanges against the follower guides, to lock the follower in fixed position, and when said plunger is depressed the cam members are moved away from said horizontal flanges to allow the follower to be moved lengthwise of the card tray.

6. The combination with a card tray having inwardly faced guide tracks extending longitudinally along the inner sides thereof, each of said guide tracks having as a part thereof a horizontal flange extending substantially the length of the track, of a follower shiftable longitudinally of the tray and comprising front and rear plate members, journal means formed upon said plate members, a rotatable shaft supported between said plate members by said journal means, said shaft extending from each side of said follower and adjacent to each side of the card tray and said shaft having an eccentric portion intermediate its length, cam members rigidly aiflxed to said shaft, there being a cam member adjacent each end of said shaft and beneath the horizontal flange of each guide track, follower'guide members attached to one of said follower plate members and resting upon the upper surface of each horizontal flange of said guide tracks above each cam member, a depressible plunger positioned between the front and rear plate members of said follower and extending through the top of the follower, said plunger being retained in position against the action of a spring located between said plate members and engaging said plunger to bias it upward, and said plunger engaging the eccentric portion of said-shaft to urge each cam member against the underside of each corresponding horizontal flange of said guide tracks whereby when said plunger is in raised position the cam members compress the horizontal flanges against the follower guides to lock the follower in fixed position, and when said plunger is depressed the cam members are moved away from said horizontal flanges to allow the follower to be moved lengthwise of the card tray.

7. In a card tray having side Walls, the combination of a follower shiftable longitudinally of the tray, guide means for maintaining the follower in a position transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tray during. such movement, a horizontal sheet metal flange adjacent to and extending inwardly from each of said side walls, and locking means carried by said follower for gripping said flange to retain the follower in adjusted position in said tray, said locking means including a cam member and a guide member, one of said members being positioned over the horizontal flange and the other directly beneath it and in vertical alignment with said first-named member, a rock lever carried by the follower and secured to the cam member for rotating the latter to thereby compress the flange between said two members, and a spring normally biasing the cam member to locking position.

CHARLES M. ABRAHAMSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 202,732 Lees Apr. 23, 1878 1,069,477 Sampson Aug. 5, 1913 1,891,522 Bullock Dec. 20, 1932 1,910,689 Gronberg et al May 23, 1933 2,043,323 Gourley et a1. June 9, 1936 

